Last night, Windows Phone Centralbroke the news about the new Microsoft branded YouTube app essentially breaking. We investigated the problem and concluded that it was due to a revoked developer key. Such a scenario could only happen if Microsoft forgot to update it or if Google yanked it.

That latter situation implies that Google did not authorize the app and was taking direct action of their own by disabling the video player on all Windows Phones. Indeed, just a few hours ago this was confirmed when Microsoft said as much in a note to the press.

Now, David Howard, Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft, has taken to TechNet, Microsoft’s blog on legal and public policy. Needless to say, the nearly 1000 word statement is chock full of information and more details on the matter, making an excellent read.

HTML5, branding and unfair requests

Presenting Microsoft’s side, which of course is expected to be biased towards themselves, Howard finally gives the details behind the current situation with Google.

It’s noted that for a few years now, Microsoft has been striving for a comparable YouTube experience that is found on the iPhone and Android—something for which we see as reasonable. Redmond reiterated that claim earlier this year soon after Windows Phone 8 launched. Google, however, was reportedly not willing to share certain data with Microsoft on to make that happen. As a result, up until April 2013, Microsoft had a much inferior YouTube experience.

This past spring, Microsoft released their version of a YouTube app and it was very well received by the community. However, Google took issue with it and asked that it be removed. Microsoft obliged with the condition that they can work with Google to release an app of comparative performance with their competitors (iOS and Android).

Microsoft agreed to Google’s terms and in version 3.2 of the YouTube app, released earlier this week, they had enabled Google’s advertisements, disabled video downloads and eliminated the ability for users to view reserved videos.

But there was evidently one more thing Google wanted: the app to be coded in HTML5.

"It seems to us that Google’s reasons for blocking our app are manufactured so that we can’t give our users the same experience Android and iPhone users are getting. The roadblocks Google has set up are impossible to overcome, and they know it." - David Howard
Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft

Microsoft notes that this was an unusual request since iOS and Android are currently not encoded in HTML5 and moreover, after investigating whether it could be done both companies agreed that making an HTML5 app would be technically difficult and time consuming (and perhaps that was Google’s intent).

This was the breaking point as Microsoft decided to release the non-HTML5 version of the app with the intention of returning to the matter later with Google.

Other lingering issues

Other problems that Google cites are ads “based on conditions imposed by content creators” aren’t always displayed. Microsoft claims that they need more data for this, something for which Google reportedly won’t share.

Finally, Google evidently now has a problem with the branding i.e. it seems like an official Google app when it’s made by Microsoft. Another reason is that according to Google, this new app provides a “degraded experience”, something for which most users have not objected too, making it vacuous.

Where to next?

It is clear Microsoft is ratcheting up the PR war by releasing this statement. From their perspective, Google has set prejudicial requirements for Windows Phone that iOS and Android are not obliged to meet. To that end, especially the request for the app to be in HTML5, it does seem that Google here is behaving rather dishonestly.

However, we should note that Google has yet to go into as much detail and surely they have their side as well. Regardless, this dispute has clearly crossed a line and Windows Phone users are suffering at their expense.

Even after being a fan boy I'll say its so funny of Google to give them a hope to MSFT to look up in the Sky for YouTube and they Slap MSFT and run away!! :D
For the time being FUCK YOU BUNCH OF BASTARDS AT GOOGLE, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM for not creating or not letting create an offical WP8 apps. However, Unofficial apps of all 3(FB, Instagram & Youtube) are better than official as they allow us to *Download* the videos or images! So in a double meaning Fuck you!!

Windows Phone's Facebook app is made by Microsoft with Facebook's collbaration so that there will not be a need for a real Facebook app for WP.

Instagram did not wish to release or approve a app for a still immature smartphone platform and I can respect that but WP Blue is still months away. But Google revoking Microsoft's YouTube developer's key after a agreement with them? That's just pure nonsene and a underhanded tatic and there was no such HTML5 restriction for the iOS version of the same YouTube app!

For a company with the fan-biased slogan of "Don't be Evil", Google's actions is not only anti-competitive, it's also considered that Google broke a sealed non-restricted agreement and also placed restrictions after the agreement was sealed.

my supertube app appears to be working ok, just watched 5 vids in a row with no problems, haven't tried to download a vid yet but playback seems ok as of right now
Update: just tested the download feature and its working as well, so ya, as of this posting supertube seems to be fully functional, which is good since its my favorite you tube app

Google just seems to be moving the goal posts. Why do they feel they can dictate how the app is coded, if it fulfills the other objectives? And if they DO want to dictate this, then they should just release their own app.

It sucks, but Google's tactics are working on me.
I use Gmail. A lot. I like Gmail. A lot. I also use and like YouTube a lot. However, I also like Microsoft and Nokia a lot. Google has set it up so that I can't properly use Google services on Microsoft's operating system or the phones that Nokia makes for that operating system.
I can, however, use a lot of Microsoft services on Google's mobile operating system Android. Microsoft is currently supporting Android in a way that would let me switch to Android and keep using a lot of the Microsoft services that I love (Skype, SkyDrive, etc.)
I love WP. I really do. But Google's tactics are working on me and I think my next phone may be an Android phone. I don't want to switch to Outlook.com. I don't want to miss out on YouTube and other Google apps. I want my phone to work properly and I want services like Gmail and YouTube to work properly on that phone.
Honestly, the only things keeping me on Windows Phone right now are Xbox Music Pass and Nokia. However, it's starting to look like the Nokia phone that I really want (the Lumia 1020) might not even come to Canada any time soon. That's yet another issue for me.
There are just so many roadblocks and difficulties that I'm facing as a Windows Phone user right now. Switching to Android just seems so much easier. I'm sick of battling.
Sorry for the long comment.

For me is working in other way. I used to love Gmail, Gmaps, Google Earth, Google Music and even the G+. I went to WP after a long period on Android and iOS. I switch back to iOS and now I'm back to WP. I never liked the Scroogled campaing. But right now, I don't care. I deleted my earth, my chrome, I am using Outlook, just in a week. Hate google more than ever.

I went the same way. Used almost all their services, but since this all started, I've quit using everything except gmail (my WPDev account is bound to this, and not possible to change) and youtube (the only channel I actively follow is only available on youtube, no videopodcast)... Left everything else.
Sadly, my workplace only allows searching with google, all sites related to work (gsmarena, retail stores, manufacturers) and wikipedia + google are allowed, everything else is blocked by proxy. Sadly, bing is included in all that blocked stuff.

That highlights the problem. Google services are popular and almost everyone uses at least one of them. Even if you try to quit their services, you'll find that other people use them and that you'll need to use them from time to time. It's starting to feel easier to give to Google than to keep fighting.

I'm currently waiting for a response from the support on anyway to change the bound account. And at work, I do all the searches om my phone instead.
Only "basic" thing I want MSFT to improve now is desktop IE (ModernUI works fine). At work, our main system (Oracle Siebel) crashes 90% of the time, works fine in all other browsers except Chrome.

I agree. First order of business is to abandon chrome. Uninstall it and don't use it. Its spam anyway. Make sure you remove it from that HIDDEN directory it installs in. It will continue to do its dirt even if you uninstall it.
Get your friends and family on board. Start a Facebook / Twitter / Instagram movement. Use Firefox, IE Opera, Safari on the desktop ANYTHING but google chrome.

So as suspected it's not about the ad revenue or the content providers, because if it were google would be jumping at this, html5 or no. This proves it is some petty anticompetitive vendetta against windows phone. If this doesnt cause infinite bad press for google then microsoft is doing something wrong.

And this is EXACTLY why I'm rocking with Metrotube. Ridiculous that these companies are acting like children fighting over M&Ms . For Google, more people using YouTube will only HELP the company they bought. To alienate those who willingly choose a different mobile platform, surely wouldn't have me running into the arms of Android. Its about choice and my choice of WP as my platform should not be used against me. If I was MS I'd just forget it and make it very public what's happening to them and their consumers.

Move the WPCentral youtube channel to Vimeo. This in all honesty is ridiculous. I can't believe Scroogle is allowed to use these types practices. If this were Mircosoft a few years ago this would be on every tech site, but since it Scroogle it makes it ok for them to do this. Complete bs.

If Google was playing Fair they would hand Microsoft an HTML5 Client and say "Here: modify the backend APIs for Windows Phone. The Web Service Calls and Look and Feel are complete and uniform across all our platforms.".

The answer is to create a better platform than youTube. It's so over. It looks and smells like it was designed in the MySpace. era. It demands replacement.

WRONG! Here in China we've had a Google-free zone ever since they ran away squeeling like a stuck pig when a little Chinese company beat the crap out of them. You don't "need" all that content. In fact you don't "need" anything from Google. But I'll bet somewhere in your life, school or office you'll "need" Microsoft.

So if we all have to choose, there's no point in choosing Google. RIP.

Where you miscalculate is that most of society could not care less what Google is doing or not doing to Windows Phone. Asking them to take a stand for an operating system they don't own and most likely don't want anything to do with is pointless.

What is their incentive to stop using YouTube? Why would they NOT watch all the content that is on YouTube? Why would they even TRY something else, when all the content is on YouTube already?

I don't specifically know the situation in China you are talking about, but it wouldn't surprise me if the government had a hand in it one way or another... but in the US I don't see any way to stop YouTube unless they introduce something that is so unpaletable to the average viewer that it drives them to alternatives.

Who's right ... who's wrong ... who killed Roger Rabbit....
The only FACT here is that Google is clearly biased against Microsoft...kinda nice to see that Google views Windows Phone as a big enough threat to resort to such shameless tricks...

Just advised my IT department to implement a complete Google block for my company. No more chrome allowed on any computer, google blocked, Gmail blocked, YouTube blocked and I will replace all current android phoned with WP devices. The reason is simple: if one of my vendors forces me into exclusivity, I will go exclusively with the one who doesn't. And I will happily tell my customers about the reason, should they ask.

Not right now, but if Microsoft adds the YouTube blocking in the recent case against Google and win, Google will be kissing Microsoft's backside to unblock their YouTube develpoer key and not slapped with a heavy fine. (Google knows that US Dollar's higher than the inflated Euro)

Google today is what Microsoft use to be......that is true.........with market share comes a lot of corporate thugs always trying to one up on another company but not through fare competition but through greed, laws, loopholes and excuses.....these type of act do not create innovation but create only copies

It's bad enough that Youtube is basically the only useful video plattform. And it sucks that it still doesn't support more than 30FPS and that the GUI is getting more and more idiotic with every iteration, not to mention the atrocious touch support of their video player.
But this just makes it plainly retarded.

I really wish there was an alternative to Youtube. A GOOD alternative.

Microsoft doesn't know how to fight a war with the likes of Google, so here are my suggestions.

1. Buy up some up and coming EA and Gameloft titles, I'm thinking, the most hyped up games -- e.g. Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5, Real Racing 4, etc. Release them on Windows Phone, Windows, iOS, Xbox One -- skip out Android.

2. Stop updating the Android Skype app, beyond basic repairs.

3. Try buying up Flipboard Inc, and take it off Android (except for Kindle, let's just F with them).

4. Stop licensing Windows Phone, make it free to all OEMs, but be extra aggressive about patent fees on Android.

5. Identify start-ups with lots and lots of potential and promise, buy them up, the next FB/Twitter/Flipboard/Vine/Instagram will be among them.

Actually, MS has more OS marketshare than Google if you add in Windows XP/Vista/7/8/RT, so I think it's a move MS could take, with most of their services, but the smartest thing to do would be to make native apps (Office, Skype, Skydrive, etc, etc) unavailable to Android and Chrome OS, and force them to be HTML5 apps.
Or, preferably, Microsoft could totally continue doing it this way and make a statement that says "THIS is how you treat your users! Not the Scroogle way!"
That would hopefully do some difference if that would spread to all major techsites.

You took the words out of my mouth, I couldn't agree with you any more. I was thinking that Microsoft needs to fight back by blocking Skype, Office, Skydrive & block Outlook integration on Android/Google/Motorola devices. Enough is enough & this Google versus Microsoft nonsense needs to end. This will only lead to bad press for Google that they want to monopolize the market.

Does anybody know how much Facebook or tweeter is worth....hey Microsoft buy one of them and then change the API or whatever so it doesn't work on android....lol....oh wait that would be a law suit.....

Whilst Microsoft has clearly broken the rules Google put in place - something they openly accept - those rules were unnecessary in the first place.
Google has no reason to insist Microsoft develops the app in HTML5, when their apps are native. No HTML5 app on any platform that supports it has comparable performance to a native code version, a point proven by Facebook last year when they ditched their HTML5-based app on Android and replaced it with a native code version. I used Android at the time and, needless to say, the performance difference was night and day.
The advertising issues are beyond Microsoft's control. They've had to reverse engineer the APIs as it is, if Google just gave them the data it would be fine. Plus bear in mind that even in its incomplete state, Google are receiving ad revenue via the WP app, something which Microsoft implemented at their own expense!
As for the trademark complaint and performance... the old web bookmark with vastly inferior performance was okay, then?

Google owns youtube service so is their right to make a native version for iOS and Android. This is normal if so is stated in TOS. The problem is there are lot of apps not using those terms and google only chooses to go for MS. If they insist for the TOS to be respected Metro Tube or whatever other apps and services must be brought down as well. Otherwise is proof of bad intent and is anticompetitive

I'm sorry, but what's the need for a YouTube app? I mean, you can always go to the mobile website and play videos from there, right? That's what I always do.
Still, I agree, Google is evil and we really need a Microsoft replacement.

+1 reason why i don't buy android or iphone (iphone NO more :) ) or scroogle search. Windows phone 8 is amazing. And Microsoft Bing is amazing now with perfect result. Maybe all customers see NOW what going on.

That just means there will be few Skype users, which is bad for Microsoft. Android has a huge marketshare that Microsoft doesn't want to lose. Windows Phone has a small marketshare that Google is apparently fine with losing.

I still say screw 'em. I wouldn't be surprised if Google is around the corner of releasing their own Android, Google-branded video messaging service of their own. It's probably near. But in the meantime, screw 'em.
Google = #pureevil

If Google keeps this up by the time I upgrade I might just swtich to Windows Phone and Microsoft's services to stick it too them. I know it's one drop in a giant ocean but this crap makes all the great stuff from Google I love feel really fake. As much as I love Android I won't stick with a Google that breaks the "no evil" policy.

Microsoft does not have numbers in mobile to make a dent by removing their apps on android or removing google apps from windows phone. Where they dominate is desktop. Make Chrome break in the next set of windows update and Google will play ball!

This is a bit pants, but to be fair the old mobile app on wp7 wasn't to bad, it was just so many videos were unavailable. I've got youtube on my Sony Blu ray player, a Tesco tv, Playbook, laptop etc. Still got metro tube on my 920. It will do until they both get their act together, had a youtube account using my hotmail account for years. I was given a gmail account but had never used it.I never knew I'd had any gmails until I bought my wife a galaxy tab 2. She isn't set up with email so I set it up has me then saw loads of mails from youtube and google, Haven't read them yet.

Just deleted chrome from my puter and having my Gmail forwarded to my outlook. I used to like google... Now its history for me. I have no issues dumping the two services I used from them. My partner has agreed to dump his android and get a Nokia 1020. I'm jealous.

LOL this must be a joke. Everyone knows, that Google itself is a dishonest company. It is a thief and spy. It uses "a stolen product" and offers it for free. Not everyone knows that Google tracks everything you do. Your whole life in internet will be saved and sold for anyone who is willing to pay for that information.
There is one fresh statement Google brainfarted out recently:
"Google: Email Users Can't Legitimately Expect Privacy When Emailing Someone On Gmail "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/gmail-privacy_n_3751971.html

Not sharing all the resources needed and then complaining that the app offers a "degraded experience" is a bit crazy of Google. I hope Google tells their side of the story so we can can see the full picture. Or they should just make the app themselves... That would work. Heh

I really can't see why anyone would think that google wouldn't take this sort of action. They are feeling superior to everyone out there right now, including the consumer. Any company that is arrogant enough to feel this way about the consumer (read article below) shouldn't have anyone's business. So glad I dumped gmail.http://gizmodo.com/google-gmail-users-have-no-reason-to-expect-privacy-1...

Its about time anti-trust laws hit the cyberspace. In other words you have a monopoly over video streaming service you have to make it available to everybody and every platform, you have a monopoly on email service you have to make it available to everybody to every platform and with the same experience accross the board. Same should go to Google, MS, Apple, etc.
As of right now Google could easily pull all their official YouTube apps and make it Android exclussive and Apple already is doing something like that with iTunes.

MS should update Windows to include an ad blocker (that alsk blocks googles text ads). Make it so that it also offers to automatically install an ad blocker on any popular browser one might later install too. Then watch google squirm. I mean, I would reckon that 80%+ of googles advertisement revenue is generated through ads on windows computers. Hit google back where it hurts. Cite "a move to protect our customers privacy on our computer" or something like that.

This plus a 1000. MS could easily put unbearable pressure on Google thru simple system and browser updates that would give users warning about their data and privacy being at risk for any Google service they use. Google would soon find out the bitch of the truth that MS owns the desktop.

It appears to be a banner week for Google. They start it by acknowledging in legal depositions that gmail users do not have a reasonable expectation to email privacy (as in Google violations not NSA). Now it looks like they will end it by re-engaging in the anti-competitive practices that had them put on notice by the courts last year.

Lame... Even in Chrome on desktop, YouTube does not run fully in HTML5. All videos with ads are shown in Flash. So clearly an impossible task for Microsoft to provide an app without "degraded experience"

You know what i jsut did. I just changed my default search engine from Google to Bing. I can't believe i did that - i NEVER care about companies (i.e. i'm not loyal to any) but this behaviour made me think twice about using any of google's services.
Good job Google, you were my default search engine for >10 years!! (previous was altavista), thnaks for making me make the switch to bing.

Google is really starting to piss me off but all the news this year don't bode well for Windows. It's those small standard basic things that are scaring people off, when you take into consideration everything it looks bad for this platforms future.